The Handmaid's Tale hogged the nomination in this category with three of the eight nominees.
This category is once again selected from the most-populated ballot, with 311 eligible men, one of only two acting races that had more than 200 eligible contenders. While there’s one show dominating the nominated field with three of the slots again, this year there are actually six shows represented, up from five. Michael K. Williams won the Critics Choice prize but none of these men were even nominated by the HFPA or SAG, so it’s possible that things are a bit more open and unpredictable this time in terms of a winner.
I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you’d like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…
Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Episode: “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
After being the only member of his cast to earn an Emmy nomination last year, Esposito is back for a different show since Better Call Saul is on hiatus. This is his fourth bid in this category (from three different shows) and he contended in the guest acting category last year for this same role. His submission of the season two finale of the ultra-popular Star Wars show gives him great scenery-chewing material, and he’s obviously beloved enough by voters to be selected for multiple TV shows. Maybe this is where the show that tied The Crown gets a major non-technical win for the hard-working and excellent actor? Esposito also appears in Best Drama Series nominee The Boys.
O-T Fagbenle as Luke Bankole in The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Episode: “Home”
This is Fagbenle’s first Emmy nomination. I didn’t see him coming in the swell of enthusiasm for the dystopian drama in its fourth season, but it’s good to see him finally here after being a crucial player for so long. His episode submission makes a lot of sense because – without spoiling too much – it finds his long-separate storyline given a much more front-and-center focus, and gives him some strong scene work with costar Elisabeth Moss. I think he’s less likely to win than both his nominated costars, but I guess an upset is always possible. I also wonder – did anyone watch his radically different series, Maxxx, which is also on Hulu and premiered about a year ago?
John Lithgow as Elias Birchard ‘E.B.’ Jonathan in Perry Mason (HBO)
Episode: “Chapter Four”
Lithgow is an Emmy juggernaut. This is his thirteenth career nomination, and he has won fifty percent of the time when nominated, including for his two most recent previous nominations for The Crown and Dexter. I’m still surprised that this show didn’t do so well overall since it was extremely well-done, and I’m happy to report that Lithgow is fully deserving of this nomination and doesn’t coast at all on his reputation. He is excellent in this episode, and he has a particularly great scene opposite Juliet Rylance, who also should have been nominated. I think he’s an easy choice to win but I don’t think the show is on voters’ radar the way it should be, which definitely diminishes his chances.
Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip in The Crown (Netflix)
Episode: “Gold Stick”
After being omitted last year when he was on the ballot in the lead actor category, Menzies earns his first Emmy nomination now for portraying the Duke of Edinburgh, a role he’ll hand over to Jonathan Pryce for the show’s final two seasons and which earned Matt Smith a nomination for season two. When I had the chance to speak with Menzies recently, he joked that Emmy voters should consider what would have been his episode submission last year, “Moondust,” but the one he chose this time, the season premiere, is a superb showcase of his complicated relationship with his onscreen son, played by Josh O’Connor. While the other three acting races could easily produce a winner from his show, Menzies would be a surprise. That said he'd be a wondrous and deserving one given the nuanced take on the role that he delivers.
Max Minghella as Nick Blaine in The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Episode: “The Crossing”
Like Fagbenle, Minghella rode a wave of support for his show to earn his first Emmy nod. He’s been a relatively consistent player on the show, a dependable figure with conflicted loyalties who cares about the titular character more than anything else. I distinctly remember Nick’s powerful appearance at the end of episode two, and he shares a dramatic and passionate scene with Elisabeth Moss in episode three, which serves as his submission. I find it hard to believe that he would earn votes over costar Bradley Whitford, who is his frequent scene partner for most of the season, but his character is more likeable so perhaps I'm wrong.
Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon in This Is Us (NBC)
Episode: “In the Room”
This is Sullivan’s second Emmy nomination. He returns to the race after missing out last year, and this time, he’s the only regular player in contention from his series aside from lead actor Sterling K. Brown. Toby is a very endearing character, and after speaking with Sullivan recently, I can affirm that his portrayer is just as pleasant and charming. His episode submission finds him sharing scenes with Michael O’Neill and contemplating the complexities of parenthood, and it’s as good a showcase as ever. If voters aren’t over this show, which they may not be, given their willingness to welcome it back to the Best Drama Series race this year, a win for Sullivan would be a fitting way to honor it.
Bradley Whitford as Commander Joseph Lawrence in The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Episode: “Testimony”
Whitford has three Emmy Awards, and each is for a different role. He won back in 2001 for The West Wing, in 2015 for guest acting on Transparent, and then for the eligible episodes of season two of this show where he was considered a guest in 2019. He got promoted to this category last year and now returns with a consecutive nomination. Anything he does as the self-serving, brutally honest Lawrence is absolutely worth watching, but I don’t think that his submission, which finds him telling fellow nominee Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia what he thinks of her, is the best he’s done, and it’s an episode that’s much more about other characters. But Whitford is an Emmy favorite, and another win for him is certainly possible, especially considering how much more well known he is than his two nominated costars.
Michael K. Williams as Montrose Freeman in Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Episode: “Rewind 1921”
This is the fourth acting nomination for Williams, who previously contended for three separate projects considered limited series or TV movies: Bessie, The Night Of, and When They See Us. Williams gets a truly fantastic role here, and his show managed a nomination in all four acting categories. His submitted episode, the show’s penultimate hour, involves a time travel trip back to the Tulsa massacre of 1921 that’s just as haunting and unforgettable as it was in the first installment on Watchmen. Montrose plays a key part in the episode. Williams has yet to win an Emmy, and he’s the best chance that his show has to earn a major statue.
Predictions
- Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country
- Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian
- John Lithgow, Perry Mason
- Tobias Menzies, The Crown
- Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale
- Chris Sullivan, This Is Us
- Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale
- O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid’s Tale
Personal Ranking
- John Lithgow, Perry Mason
- Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale
- Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country
- Chris Sullivan, This Is Us
- Tobias Menzies, The Crown
- Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian
- Max Minghella, The Handmaid’s Tale
- O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid’s Tale
Who are you rooting for?